From new paint to new programs to new buildings, the 10 Baptist encampments throughout the state have been busy preparing for the coming summer camping season. And many are being rewarded with an upswing in campers, despite the downturn in the economy. Here is what’s new at the encampments:
STATEWIDE – From new paint to new programs to new buildings, the 10 Baptist encampments throughout the state have been busy preparing for the coming summer camping season.
And many are being rewarded with an upswing in campers, despite the downturn in the economy. Here is what’s new at the encampments:
ACADIAN BAPTIST CENTER
EUNICE – “We’re doing OK,” ABC Director James Newsom said. “A lot of our camps are starting to fill up. We’ve already had a good start to the camping season as we doubled the number of kids in our Outdoor Education Program.
“Our Equestrian Camp, which began this week, is well attended, and we are looking forward to a busy summer,” Newsom said.
Plans are being drawn up for a $600,000, 6,000-square-foot expansion of the camp’s cafeteria. Besides increasing seating in the cafeteria to 450, plans also include updating the kitchen.
“The expansion will allow us to triple our size,” Newsom said. “We are hoping to complete the expansion of the dining hall using volunteer labor, but we won’t actually begin work on it until the fall.”
Volunteers for First Baptist Church Monterey, though, have been busy completing the third of three family-size cabins. The 28×24 cabins, which are the same size found in state parks, feature a bedroom, bath, kitchen and small living room.
Also this spring, volunteers, mostly local farmers, plowed and leveled the 13.5 acres that was acquired last year and sits adjacent to the camp. The volunteers planted Bermuda grass and have fertilized it. The acreage will be utilized as additional fields for a variety of use.
CAMP BETHANY
BETHANY – Tucked away in the piney woods of Northwest Louisiana, Camp Bethany features tons of outdoor activities for its campers. It may be why they are overflowing with campers this summer.
“We have all we can handle,” said Joan Cole, wife of Camp Bethany Director Robert Cole. “Both of our youth camps are full … no, overflowing [375]. The kids enjoy the tons of outdoor activities – lighted putt putt golf course, beach volleyball, fishing in the stocked pond, grass volleyball, softball, basketball, and the swimming – that we offer here.”
The camp’s season begins on June 22 with a Kidz Mission Camp and concludes in late July with two sessions of Camp Fuego. The camp offers the 32-room Kelly Memorial Family Lodge as well as 12 cabins that can hold 250 campers.
However, the camp is short one cabin after it was struck by lightning four weeks ago during a storm and burned. Volunteers are working daily to get it rebuilt and hopefully it will available in July.
CLARA SPRINGS BAPTIST ENCAMPMENT
PELICAN – A brand new gym, splash pool, and a new maintenance shop highlight the renovations taking place at Clara Springs Baptist Encampment.
And these projects are on top of the “tons of remodeling, painting, and landscaping” taking place throughout the encampment as it prepares for another busy summer camping season.
“We have tons of renovation and remodeling taking place right now,” Clara Springs Director Jack Mills said. “And we couldn’t have done it without Campers on Mission, local volunteers and churches in District Eight and our area businesses.”
Needing just a roof, the new 120 X 60-foot open air recreation pavilion is 80 percent completed, and should be finished in time for the encampment’s first camp, which begins on June 15.
“I have been told that they will have the roof on our new gym very, very soon,” Mills said. “It will be a huge addition to our camp. In addition to the numerous activities we can have there, it also features two 20 x 20-foot rooms at each end.
“I can also report that working is coming along on our new 92 x40-foot maintenance shop. We’ve never had a maintenance shop here, so that’s going to be a huge help,” Mills said.
The addition of a new saltwater 15 x 25-foot splash pool will afford children whocan’t swim a place to go to cool off. The pool is 18 inches to two feet in depth. Not only is it much safer but it will also keep the children that who swim from going into the bigger pool.
Perhaps the biggest project that’s taking place at Clara Springs is of a new, special family facility at the camp.
“For years we have been praying, hoping, and dreaming of an adult/family facility. We saw the need to provide a facility that could accommodate couples and even families. This would be a place for where we could hold retreats for marriage, couples, deacons, church staff and even Sunday school class,” Mills said.
“We have cleared five acres of land on the property and, through the generosity of several individuals and churches, have purchased 12 cabins and a conference room that can seat upwards of 60 people,” Mills said. “Our goal is have 15 of these cabins (12 x 30 feet). The Lord has provided so far and I know he is going to provide for the remaining three cabins as well.”
In addition to all the new construction, the camp has also added a new program, or camp, to its lineup.
“We will be having a children’s pre-K camp on July 17-18,” Mills said. “This will be for children that are really too young to go to camp by themselves. This way they will be able to spend the night with their parents and get to experience what summer camp is all about.”
DRY CREEK BAPTIST CAMP
DRY CREEK – “God continues to bless us with our campers,” Dry Creek Director Todd Burnamen said.
The economy certainly hasn’t seemed to affect the turnout at Dry Creek. The ever-popular GA camp for girls in grades first through sixth is filled and a waiting list has been started.
“This is the type of problem every director likes to have,” Burnamen said. “Not all, but a lot of our camps (11 in all) are filled or they are starting to get full, and that means God is definitely at work here.”
Dry Creek has also added a camp – Engage Youth Camp – which will be for grades seventh through 12th and take place June 22-26. What makes this camp unique is it’s either a youth or a mission camp – a combo camp.
“The campers can choose to just do the regular camp or they can choose to do mission work,” Burnamen said. “It is much more versatile and it gives the kids, themselves, a choice. I’m excited to see how this camp will do.”
Burnamen is also excited over the completion of his 8,000-square foot maintenance shed. The 15-month project, which had a number of volunteers – Campers on Mission, Services on Wheels Ever Ready (SOWERS) and 60 individuals, was completed in late spring and Dry Creek workers are presently moving in.
“It means all of our maintenance equipment and tools will be in the back and not in the middle of camp,” Burneman said. “It means our equipment won’t be in view or work won’t be taking place in the middle of the camp.
“The new shed will make maintenance here more efficient, quiet and out of the way,” Burneman said. “And, thank God, we never went into debt over it – it’s paid. We won’t begin tearing down the five buildings that housed our maintenance department until the fall.’’
FRIENDSHIP BAPTIST CAMP
BIENVILLE – Friendship may not be the largest of the state’s Baptist encampments but that fact doesn’t stop the campers from faithfully coming ever summer.
For the past 50 years, Friendship, which is the old Friendship High School, has been a summer retreat for children from Winn and Jackson Baptist Association. And numbers, according to Robert Leach, camp treasurer and pastor of Friendship Baptist Church, are better than one might expect.
“Last year we had 87 girls for our GA camp, 46 boys for out RA camp, and 30 for our youth camp. We didn’t have as many youth as I would have liked to have seen but our other two camps did very well,” Leach said. “And things are looking very good for all three camps this year.”
Leach reports the camp offers nothing new except some fresh paint, carpentry work and landscaping.
“We are only open for three weeks in the summer,” Leach said. “We have a couple of family reunions and there is a school reunion from those who attended Friendship before it closed in 1954. So, there’s not much we have to do besides upkeep. The Lord meets our needs.”
While there are no new buildings or programs to report, there will be one change according to Leach. “Brother Tommy Smith from Sweetwater Baptist Church [Quitman] is taking over the RA camp. I’ve been doing it for more than 20 years. Ricky Howard and I will help Tommy with it.”
HARRIS BAPTIST ASSEMBLY
MINDEN – With camp starting last Monday, Harris Director Mike Latham is expecting a full, busy summer.
“We are expecting attendance to be up a little this year,” he said. “Our Children’s Camp, which begins on June 8, has exceeded last year’s totals. As a matter of fact, it is the largest one we ever had in June.
“Last year we had more 1,000 campers and I believe we are going to have more this year. Of course, there is no way to know until the end of the summer, but indications point to it being a very good year,” Latham said.
Workers – volunteers and staff – have been busy putting the final touches on renovations and remodeling work at the camp.
Perhaps the biggest job was the replacement of a 22-year-old unit that heated and cooled the camp’s conference center. It’s replacement, according to Latham, was long overdue and very needed.
The camp has done the usual painting – a lot of painting – and replacing of light bulbs. They’ve also poured concreted to expand the camp’s snack shop and have expanded the deck next to the swimming pool.
JUDSON BAPTIST RETREAT CENTER
ST. FRANCISVILLE – Debi Morris, wife of JBRC Manager Eugene Morris, is excited about the addition of a gift shop to the sprawling Judson Baptist Retreat Center. And she can’t wait for campers to see it.
“A gift shop is something we’ve never had here,” Morris said. “I think it will make a good addition to our center and it will allow our campers to purchase JBRC t-shirts and caps along with other little items.”
The gift shop, though, isn’t the only new thing campers will be greeted with this summer.
“We’ve renovated our cafeteria,” Morris added, “so we could better serve our guests and campers. I don’t want to give it away but we’ve also got a few surprises in store for our campers as well.”
The additions couldn’t come as a better time as one camp is filled, a second has just two openings and many of the others are filling up quickly.
“It looks as if we have a pretty busy summer ahead of us,” Morris said. “The boys camp is full, and the girls camp is almost there. We also have a couple of rental camps in which churches are renting our center. It is something we haven’t had before.
“We don’t have any new programs this summer, but the ones we do have, such as the mother/daughter retreat and the equestrian camp, are doing very well,” Morris said. “As a matter of fact, mothers should think about our mother/daughter retreat. We just had one this spring and we have another scheduled in the fall (October 23). My husband and I have been here 30 years and this is the best program we’ve ever encountered. It is just a wonderful ministry.”
LIVING WATERS BAPTIST ASSEMBLY
LORANGER – The months of June, July and August should pass quickly for staffers at Camp Living Waters Baptist Assembly as the calendar is filled up with church events and summer camps.
Speaking of summer camps, there should be no shortage of campers as two out of the three summer camps are filled and Living Waters personnel feel the few remaining spots will be gobbled up quickly.
Able to house as many as 200 campers in its dormitory, the camp is a natural draw for kids as it features a 10,000-square foot multi-purpose gym, a 120,000-gallon swimming pool, a 300-foot water slide, a 1.5-acre pond for canoeing and fishing, two large recreation fields and a state of the art adventure recreation facility.
According to the Living Waters website, work on air-conditioning the camp’s assembly center has been completed.
Also, a pool house, complete with showers and a changing area, has been added and work ongoing on a recreation area that will feature human foosball, sand volleyball and outdoor dodgeball.
TALL TIMBERS CONFERENCE CENTER
WOODWORTH – One never knows the future until it is behind them.
While Tall Timbers Director Sam White believes registration for the numerous summer camps is on track with years past, he can’t be for sure until the summer camping season comes to an end if the numbers will trend upward or level out.
“It is looking pretty good at this point,” White said. “I would say we are pretty much on track with years past. It could end up being better or it could level off. Because people in Louisiana wait until the last minute to register, I won’t really know how well we will do until the summer is behind us.”
Still, despite people’s tendency to drag their feet, White is seeing some very encouraging numbers for several camps, including the youth camp being put on by Kevin Boles, youth strategist for the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
“Registration for Kevin’s youth camp is way ahead of last year,” White said. “Our two kids camps (one in June and the other in July for third through sixth graders) are also doing very well.”
To prepare for this influx of campers and other guests, Tall Timbers has been busy with renovations and repairs.
Thanks to Hurricane Gustav, the center’s challenge course, which was destroyed, has been completely replaced and several new features added.
“We are very excited about the improvements with our ropes course,” White said. “Our insurance allowed us to rebuild the course, and we were able to add a lot of new stuff as well as make some needed improvements.”
The center also renovated the Cedar Cabin and obtained new beds, bought new furniture for Lee Lodge as well as putting on a new roof, adding siding and fresh paint. At Indiana Creek Lodge, volunteers put down all new flooring, and a new on-site home was built for Tall Timbers’ associate director.
“We had to have some of the work done by contractors, but the bulk of it was taken care of by volunteers,” White said. “We are in pretty good shape at this point.”